Julia was born in 1912 in Pasadena, Calif. and initially set her sites on a writing career. She joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II and traveled the world, eventually meeting husband Paul in Sri Lanka, according to her PBS biography. Paul, who worked for the State Department, was eventually transferred to France, where Julia's love of French cooking took root. She collaborated with Simca Beck and Louisette Bertholle on a cookbook and after 10 years of work, Mastering the Art of French Cooking was published in 1961.

By then, Julia was living in Massachusetts and an appearance on a local TV program helped kickstart her own TV career, with The French Chef on PBS. Over the next few decades, she penned more cookbooks and became a regular on TV screens.

Julia passed away on Aug. 13, 2004 at the age of 91. Her life was chronicled in the 2009 film Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep as the famous chef.

PBS is celebrating Child's birthday all month long. The network is calling on fans to cook one of her recipes and share it with other viewers on the PBS Facebook page, on Twitter using the #CookForJulia hashtag, or on personal blogs.

For those who would rather watch Julia craft a meal than cook it themselves, PBS also has exclusive full episodes of The French Chef and Baking with Julia. There are also testimonials from chefs who found inspiration from Julia, trivia, and quotes.

In 2001, Julia donated her kitchen to the Behring Center at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History when she moved from Massachusetts to California. The kitchen was designed in 1961 by her husband Paul and was the set of her TV series for seven years.

About the Author

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships a... See Full Bio

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